The Northern and Southern Altayans formed in the Altay area on the basis of tribes of Kimek-Kipchaks.[2][3] According to a recent (2016) study, Altaians, especially Southern Altaians, are descedants of the Yeniseian people and closely related to the Paleo-Eskimo groups.[4]

The Altay came into contact with Russians in the 18th century. In the tsarist period, the Altay were known as oirot or oyrot (this name means oirat and would later be carried on for the Oyrot Autonomous Oblast). The Altay report that many of them became addicted to the Russians' vodka, which they called "fire water".[6]

Prior to 1917 the Altai were considered to be made up of many different ethnic groups.[8]

With the rise of the 1917 revolution, the Altay attempted to make their region a separate Burkhanist republic called Oyrot. Their support for the Mensheviks during the Civil War led to the venture's collapse after the Bolshevik victory and the later rise of Joseph Stalin. In the 1940s, during World War II and when he was directing numerous purges, his government declared the Altay of being pro-Japanese. The word "oyrot" was declared to be counterrevolutionary. By 1950, Soviet industrialization policies and development in this area resulted in considerable migration of Russians to this republic, reducing the proportion of Altay in the total population from 50% to 20%.[9] In the early 21st century, ethnic Altaians make up about 31% of the Altai Republic's population.[10]

According to the 2010 Russian census, there was a total of 69,963 Altaians who resided within the Altai Republic. This represented 34.5% of the total population of the republic, compared with 56.6% with a Russian background, Altaian families are the majority only in certain villages. However, Altaian culture is still the local culture between people and communities.

1 The Turkmen people living in Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Iran are not to be confused with the Turkmen/Turkoman minorities in the Levant (i.e. Iraq and Syria) as the latter minorities mostly adhere to a Ottoman-Turkish heritage and identity. 2 This list only includes traditional areas of Turkish settlement (i.e. Turks still living in the former Ottoman territories).